


Esteem

by onceuponachildhood



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Ableist Language, Gen, gendered slurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 05:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3638955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceuponachildhood/pseuds/onceuponachildhood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's not the only one who wonders if she's really the Herald. She's just the least vocal. | Cassandra and the Herald share a moment on their way home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Esteem

* * *

"These Inquisition people, they're just plain stupid. Them's in charge got less sense than the ass end of an ass." The tone, more than the words, caught her attention. A burly-looking man, well on his way to drunk, was ranting to his friends in a corner of the tavern. "Thinking Andraste would choose one of those _elves_ as her Herald." Tauriel was moving before she could react, before Cassandra could reach out to stop her. She stalked forward until she was at their table. Everyone else at the table fell silent, but the man laughed. "Here she is now, the knife-eared bitch!"

Tauriel felt something sinister slither its way into her gut. It must have showed on her face, because the man's shit-eating grin wavered. "What was that I was hearing about the leaders of the Inquisition? I would certainly hope it wasn't anything unsavory."

Apparently he wasn't so far into his cups that he couldn't see the clear danger in front of him. He was, however, drunk enough to still mutter "No way would Andraste choose a dirty elf."

"It's frankly ridiculous that you think I can't be the Herald of Andraste because I'm an elf." Tauriel thought about how satisfying it might be to hit the guy, but it wouldn't reflect well on the Inquisition, on her advisors. She couldn't do that to them after all the faith they'd shown in her. "If you knew anything about her you would know that she turned to Shartan and his people when she waged war on the Imperium. She decided we were worthy long before scum like you spit on us." Cassandra laid a surprisingly gentle hand on Tauriel's shoulder and suddenly even arguing with the asshole was too much effort. She turned to Cassandra with pleading eyes.

Cassandra gave the guy a look that spoke of impending doom. "Perhaps we should press on instead of resting, Herald. I am sure Sister Nightingale would like a report of this altercation." The guy paled so quickly he looked as if he might faint.

It really was worth all the nastiness to have someone like Cassandra at her side. Tauriel placed her own hand on the Seeker's, hoping the gesture could even remotely convey her thanks. "I don't think that will be necessary, Cassandra. We can just stop at the next inn if we must stop."

"If you think that's best, Herald." Tauriel turned, but not so quickly that she didn't see the look of mingled relief and terror on the man's face.

They were well back on the road toward Haven when Cassandra spoke again. "I am sorry I did not step in sooner. You should not have to face such disparaging against your heritage."

"It’s rotten but I’m used to it. It wasn't even that that made me so angry!" Tauriel closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe. Cassandra was quiet and patient beside her as they walked. Tauriel struggled to make her thoughts come out as coherent sentences. "The way he talked about the leaders of the Inquisition, like he knows anything about the four of you-"

"It's just talk. Don't let it trouble you."

"But it _does_ trouble me!" Tauriel couldn't hold back. The sinister slithering thing was still there, still coiled in her belly. "The four of you are worth so much _more_ than idle talk! I've never met anyone so brave and so dedicated as you. Cullen is like a father to the troops, he cares for them so much. Leliana has so much passion for the Inquisition that I feel inspired just standing next to her. And Josephine handles assholes twelve times worse than that one with all the grace of a queen to protect us. The leaders of the Inquisition are worth _everything_ to me, and it's the least I can do to try to live up to that!" Tauriel realized belatedly that she'd been ranting, not breathing, and she fell silent.

"I... did not realize you felt this way," Cassandra said evenly.

Tauriel could feel her cheeks getting warm. She was immensely glad that Cassandra kept her eyes to the road. "I do," she replied, voice soft.

For a moment, Cassandra did not reply. Tauriel didn’t know what to expect. At least a little of the anger had gone. The crunching of loose gravel under their boots mingled with the night sounds. Their footsteps were steady and rhythmic as they walked down the road. In her peripheral, Tauriel could see Cassandra glancing at her. Eventually, Cassandra said “Your respect means infinitely more to me than that of drunkards in a tavern. Don’t trouble yourself over them.”

“Oh. Alright.”

The silence back to Haven was significantly easier to bear.

* * *

 


End file.
